Cristian O'Flaherty
Professor, Dep. Surgery (Urology), McGill
Associate member, Dep. Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill
Associate member, Dep. Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill
Associate member, Dep. Medicine (Experimental Medicine Division)
D.V.M.; Ph.D.
• Redox signaling in spermatogenesis, epididymal maturation and sperm activation
• Regulation of apoptosis in the testis
• Phosphorylation events involved in sperm activation
• Male infertility
• Toxicology of male reproduction
Molecular mechanisms of sperm capacitation.
Lipid signaling in spermatozoa.
Novel strategies to diagnose and treat male infertility.
Bumanlag E, Scarlata E, O’Flaherty C. Peroxiredoxin 6 Peroxidase and Ca2+-Independent Phospholipase A2 Activities Are Essential to Support Male Mouse Fertility, Antioxidants 11(2):226-243, 2022.
Serafini S, O’Flaherty C. Redox Regulation to Modulate Phosphorylation Events in Human Spermatozoa. Invited review, Antioxid Redox Signaling 37:437-450, 2022.
Scarlata E, Fernandez MC, O’Flaherty C. A novel combination of gamma-tocopherol-rich mixture of tocopherols and ascorbic acid restores fertility in cases of tyrosine nitration-associated male infertility in mice. Antioxidants (7), 613:1-13, 2020.
Fernandez M, Yu A, Moawad A, O’Flaherty C. Peroxiredoxin 6 regulates the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT pathway to maintain human sperm viability. Mol Hum Reprod 25:787-796, 2019.
Fernandez MC, O’Flaherty C. Peroxiredoxin 6 is the primary antioxidant enzyme for the maintenance of viability and DNA integrity in human spermatozoa. Hum Reprod 33(8):1394-1407, 2018.
Moawad AR, Fernandez MC, Scarlata E, Dodia C, Feinstein SI, Fisher AB, O’Flaherty C. Deficiency of peroxiredoxin 6 or inhibition of its phospholipase A2Ìýactivity impair the in vitro sperm fertilizing competence in mice.ÌýSci Reports 7(1):12994, 2017.
Lee D, Moawad A, Morielli T, Fernandez, MC, O’Flaherty C. Peroxiredoxins prevent oxidative stress during human sperm capacitation. Mol Hum Reprod 23:106-111, 2017.
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Dr. Cristian O’Flaherty is a professor in the Department of Surgery (Division of Urology) at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ and a medical scientist at the Research Institute of the Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Health Centre. He is also an associate member of the Departments of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Experimental Medicine at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. Dr. O’Flaherty was Co-Director of the McGill Centre for Research in Reproduction and Development during 2018-2021. He is an associate editor of Andrology, Human Reproduction, and Antioxidants Journal and a member of the Editorial Board of the Biology of Reproduction.
With a background in the biology of reproduction, he holds a D.V.M and Ph.D. in animal physiology and biochemistry degrees from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He completed his postdoctoral studies in sperm physiology and toxicology at the Urology Division and the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. He was awarded the Chercheur-boursier Junior 1 and 2 awards from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ), and his research program has been and is currently funded by different agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, FRQS and the Fonds de Recherche Nature et technologies.
Dr. O’Flaherty’s research program focuses on male reproduction, particularly on the molecular mechanisms involved in the production and function of healthy spermatozoa and the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in sperm physiology and toxicology. Through mouse models and human spermatozoa, Dr. O’Flaherty aims to elucidate the role of the reactive oxygen species and antioxidant enzymes in regulating sperm function using genomic, proteomic and biochemical approaches. Dr. O’Flaherty was the first to identify the primary role of peroxiredoxin 6 in protecting the spermatozoa against oxidative stress and the participation of peroxiredoxins in regulating ROS during sperm capacitation. He is also dedicated to deciphering the molecular mechanisms that drive the spermatozoon to achieve the fertilizing ability to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for male infertility.Ìý
INDS211,ÌýEXSU684,ÌýPHAR201,ÌýEXMD503,ÌýEXMD401,ÌýPATH652